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This article, authored by Dulclair Sternadt, Juan Pablo Mellado, Gabriela Rivas-Mari..o, and Daniela Moyano, explored the inclusion of gastronomy in School Feeding Programmes (PAE) in Latin America and the Caribbean as a means of enhancing programme efficiency. The article presented case studies from Chile, Colombia, and Guatemala to guide other countries in the region on how to incorporate gastronomy into their own PAE. These inputs, and their outstanding results - increased acceptance of school menus in the three countries and a decrease in food waste of around 20% in Chile and Colombia - are clear evidence for other countries to include gastronomy in their SFP as a powerful strategy capable of contributing to the optimisation of public resources invested in these programmes. Furthermore, in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the article also included a food safety guide that outlined practices to ensure the safe delivery of food to students during the reopening of schools. The guide was divided into 3 sections, which covered planning for reopening, implementation of food safety principles to minimize the spread of COVID-19, and monitoring and follow-up during reopening. This article provide valuable insights and evidence-based recommendations to support the continued provision of food to students in the face of the pandemic.
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With the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and other partners, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and USAID, between 17 December 2020 and 3 January 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources (MoANR) carried out its annual assessment Mission to determine crop production and food supply situation throughout the 18 states of the country. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictive measures introduced to contain it, the methodology was modified, with institutions of the Federal Government, normally conducting the survey, delegating to staff at State level the task of collecting all the requested data, under the supervision of federal staff from the Food Security Technical Secretariat (FSTS) and the General Directorate of Planning and Agricultural Economics (GDPAE).
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The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in school closures and required school nutrition directors to shift their methods of executing the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The procurement of items, the composition of meals, and meal delivery were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to these changes, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released several waivers allowing for flexibility in meal patterns and meal delivery, while maintaining federal reimbursements to schools. Although school meals have yet to reach pre-pandemic participation numbers, school districts nationwide have experienced the effects of supply chain disruptions, therein impacting their ability to meet the nutritional standards of the NSLP and SBP. To mitigate supply chain issues and provide consistent, quality meals, School Food Authorities needed to leverage USDA's additional funding and waivers by continuing to innovate, establish, and communicate best practices for effective meal delivery.
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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic affected foodservice operations within urban Kansas childcare centers. METHODS: Three COVID-19-related questions were added to an online survey of Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) participating childcare centers located throughout Kansas. Responses were collected from July through August, 2020. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of open-ended responses were used to identify common concerns. RESULTS: Seventy-nine of the 138 childcare centers invited to complete the COVID-19-related questions responded (57.2% participation rate). The majority (n=56, 70.1%) reported decreased enrollment, whereas a small number (n=9, 11.4%) reported an increase. Approximately twothirds of the centers (n=49, 62.0%) reported foodservice operation modifications owing to COVID-19-related challenges. Three overarching themes were discovered within the centers' responses: (a) procurement challenges including decreased availability and increased cost of foods, (b) changes in meal service including shifting to disposable tableware and ceasing familystyle meal service, and (c) menu and production changes in response to enrollment changes and product availability issues. APPLICATION TO CHILD NUTRITION PROFESSIONALS: Future consideration for CACFP participants include shifting to more shelf-stable foods when faced with food availability issues and utilizing more cost-effective food purchasing options, which might be attained through group purchasing organizations. Well-developed emergency plans such as emergency menus should include plans for procurement challenges. Resources and training to increase understanding and knowledge of CACFP meal pattern guidelines may make menu changes based on availability easier or less challenging. Best practice guidelines, such as family-style meals, may have to take health and safety measures into consideration. As centers continue to experience COVID-19-related issues and plan for a "return to normal", child nutrition professionals can fulfill an important role in helping centers adapt their foodservice operations to meet the challenge.
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Objective: To investigate the implementation status of school lunches and simplified school lunches after a state of emergency was declared due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and the content of a simplified school lunch.
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Background: Community-based management of acute malnutrition is implementing in Ethiopia but there is scarce information in our study set up regarding the time to recovery and its predictors of severe acute malnutrition among 6 to 59 months children, so this study aimed to assess the time to recovery and its predictors for uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition among 6 to 59 children managed at the outpatient therapeutic program in north Shewa zone, Ethiopia.
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This article describes how an ongoing nutrition-smart programming approach was employed by the African Development Bank and harnessed as part of its COVID-19 response intervention.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers 15 domestic food and nutrition assistance programs that together affect the lives of millions of people and account for roughly two-thirds of USDA's annual budget. In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USDA launched additional temporary programs and implemented numerous policy changes that expanded the scope and coverage of existing programs. Together, these initiatives contributed to higher spending on food and nutrition assistance programs in fiscal year (FY) 2021 (October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021), which amounted to a historical high of $182.5 billion. This report uses preliminary data from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to examine program trends and policy changes in USDA's largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2021.
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Due to the impact of the pandemic, Brazil suspended, in mid-March 2020, classes and on-site activities throughout the municipal, state and federal education system. In view of this scenario full of challenges and missions that the PNAE had to take ownership of, the Collaborating Centers for Food and Nutrition (CECANEs) have became important services to enable the proper distribution of the kits and the operation of the program. It is an experience report based on CECANE/UFRN own actions, results and reports. From the survey carried out with the 167 municipalities of Rio Grande do Norte, assisted by CECANE/UFRN, the panorama regarding the distribution of school feeding kits was observed, highlighting the different situations and difficulties faced during the execution. Guidance actions were carried out on the assembly and distribution of school feeding kits, accountability and participation in social control. The work aims to establish and legitimize the role of CECANE in the defense of Human Right to Adequate Food (DHAA) and Food and Nutrition Security (SAN) in the school feeding scenario and reinforces the importance of investigations about the logistics of assembling and distributing the kits in the national territory, showing the diversity and local difficulties.
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School meals are a right enshrined in the Federal Constitutional of Brazil, and it is the duty of the State to guarantee them to all students enrolled in the public basic education network. The main way to carry out this guarantee has been through the National School Feeding Program (PNAE). Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization declared the pandemic by COVID-19, several measures have been taken to control the disease, including the suspension of face-to-face classes, putting at risk the guarantee of the human right to school feeding in public school system. In view of this, this article, through a review, presents and discusses the reframing process and the challenges faced by PNAE in the context of the pandemic. It addresses the main changes that occurred with the enactment of Law n degrees . 13.987/2020, regulated by Resolution CD/FNDE n degrees 02/2020, which authorized, exceptionally, during the period of suspension of classes, the distribution of foodstuffs purchased with program resources to students' families. In addition, it presents the modalities adopted by the Executing Entities and the attributions of the different school feeding actors in the country, in the context of the pandemic, highlighting their reflexes on the food and nutritional security of this public.
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic spread in India is steeply rising. A 21-day lockdown has been imposed by the Government of India, to curtail its spread. This has impacted all walks of life, including availability of food and nutrition related services which would affect nutritional status of children throughout India. The two major schemes, i.e. Integrated Child Development Services Scheme and Mid-day Meal Scheme have been affected leading to risk of worsening of child nutrition. Some states have evolved their own strategies to mitigate the effect of lockdown. Here we discuss the challenges and way forward for ensuring availability of food for child nutrition during this health crisis. No single, optimal response to a public health emergency exists. The government and non-government partners must coordinate and scale up child nutrition services in the community through strengthening of public distribution system and home delivery of food parcels wherever feasible for beneficiaries of child nutrition programs.
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The rise of the global overweight and obesity epidemic can be attributed to the rise of modern retail and food service delivery sectors in all countries, has led to changes in the agricultural and food systems, thereby increasing affordability and access to foods and less nutritious drinks. The consequences of school closures on the economic security and well-being of children, their families and their communities are likely to reverse the progress in education over the past decades. Prioritizing children's return to school and using school as a platform to improve nutrition and health will have a huge impact on future generations. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been more impetus and opportunity to bring together governments, donors, organizations and communities in education, health and nutrition. Countries must reframe their efforts to ensure health and nutrition services begin in the first 1,000 days and continue for the next 7,000 days. They must focus their attention on middle school ages globally so that students have access to quality, healthier meals and better learning opportunities. This will strengthen the initial investments in the first 1,000 days and lay a strong foundation for the future of children and their society.
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South Africa has a well established National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). Despite rescheduling the mealtime to two hours after the start of the school day to accommodate learners who come to school on an empty stomach, a gap still exists as many children start their learning day with low energy and concentration levels. A costeffective, energy-dense snack served at the start of the school day can be a solution to sustain learners until the main meal is served. Cross-sectional surveys were used to determine the snack preferences of children and the product development process was used to develop a suitable snack. An energy-dense peanut butter biscuit was developed based on those surveys as well as a scoping review of previous snack studies. The energydense developed product provided 1388kJ (61.0%) of energy from fat, 688kJ (30.2%) of energy from carbohydrates and 201kJ (8.8%) of energy from protein per 100g. The biscuit conformed to microbial testing standards. Shelf-life analysis projected a shelf-life of five weeks fresh and five months in food grade packaging. Sensory results showed that there was no significant difference in sensory scores across gender (p=0.691) and age (p=0.706). More of the learners (n=56, 69.1%) found the biscuit to be 'Super good' than the other ratings (p < .0005). When compared with similar biscuit products currently on the market, it was found that the developed biscuit was the most reasonably priced. The developed biscuit has the potential to serve as a solution to hidden hunger for children that come to school on an empty stomach. This versatile snack solution has potential for continuity of use even during periods of national crisis as with COVID-19, when learners' nutritional needs may be most vulnerable.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) typically administers 15 domestic food and nutrition assistance programs that together affect the lives of millions of people and account for roughly two-thirds of USDA's annual budget. In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USDA launched two new programs, Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) and the Farmers to Families Food Box Program (Food Box Program). Additionally, USDA implemented numerous policy changes that expanded the scope and coverage of existing programs. Together, these initiatives contributed to an increase in expenditures on food and nutrition assistance programs, which amounted to a historical inflation-adjusted high of $122.1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2020 (October 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020). This report uses preliminary data from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to examine program trends in the largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2020 and documents the many policy changes implemented since March 2020. It also summarizes a recent USDA, Economic Research Service report examining the prevalence of household food insecurity in the United States in 2019 and a working paper examining Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and P-EBT benefit redemptions during the pandemic.
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A survey was conducted in Kano State-Nigeria aimed at exploring the travails of the dry-land farmers of the state amidst Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The exercise was carried out in 8 Local Government Areas marked out in two sampling units within the metropolis and outside the metropolis. Within the Kano metropolis were Nassarawa, Ungogo, Tarauni and Dala;while Madobi, Minjiibir, Garun Mallam and Dambatta were outside the metropolitan. The enumeration thus pointed to the complete halt of all activities in the state during the ill-fated lockdown which was coupled with hunger, starvation, alongside stringent survival strategies;difficult access to agricultural imputes aids;and the effects on farming activities, among others. Structured interview was employed with a total of 120 respondents, using Availability Sampling Technique. However, food insecurity and malnutrition in Nigeria is as a result of the non implementation of the national and conventional food policy and agricultural programs. Nonetheless, in this critical time of economic pressure and the insurgence of Covid-19 pandemic, it is very important therefore to improve the budget allocation to the agricultural sector, as well as sustainable agricultural policy improvement programs by giving very compelling priority for nutrition on the agenda of the government, and enforcing a vibrant policy at aiding these dry-land farmers from whom the bulk of the global food production emanates.
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This report provides statistics on food security in U.S. households throughout 2020 based on the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data collected in December 2020. An estimated 89.5 percent of U.S. households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2020, with access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households (10.5 percent, unchanged from 10.5 percent in 2019) were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 3.9 percent with very low food security (not significantly different from 4.1 percent in 2019). Very low food security is the more severe range of food insecurity where one or more household members experienced reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at times during the year because of limited money and other resources for obtaining food. Although the prevalence of food insecurity and very low food security for all households remained unchanged from 2019, some subgroups experienced increases in food insecurity and very low food security. For example, among children, food insecurity and very low food security increased significantly from 2019. Children and adults were food insecure in 7.6 percent of U.S. households with children in 2020 (up from 6.5 percent in 2019);very low food security among children was 0.8 percent (up from 0.6 percent in 2019). In 2020, the typical food-secure household spent 18 percent more on food than the typical food-insecure household of the same size and household composition. About 55 percent of food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps);Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);and the National School Lunch Program during the month prior to the 2020 survey. Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, USDA granted States significant program flexibilities and contingencies to serve nutrition assistance program participants. The prevalence of food insecurity in the 30-day period from mid-November to mid-December 2020 was 5.7 percent for the Nation. Food insecurity was substantially higher for households with a householder or reference person (an adult household member in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented) who was unable to work because of the pandemic (16.4 percent food insecure in the 30-day period from mid-November to mid-December 2020) and households with a reference person who was not employed and was prevented from looking for work because of the pandemic (20.4 percent food insecure in the same 30-day period).